Cooling system for internal-combustion engines



Jan. 7, 1930. H. B. STODDARD COOLING SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENG INES Filed May 28, 1927 u lll llullllllll. 2 w bl 5 '5' H Patented Jan. 7, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRY IB- STODDARD, F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK COOLING SYSTEM FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES Application filed May 28,

- This invention relates to a water-cooling system for internal combustion engines in the class set forth in my Patent No. 1,569,243, January 12, 1926, except that the radiator is open at the front and rear for the circulation of air between a series of upright water conduits in addition to means for circulating the air through vertical conduits extending through the water conduits in spaced relation thereto.

The main object is to provide a larger area of contact of the circulating air with the upright water circulating conduits to cause a moreexpeditious cooling of the water than has heretofore been practiced and incidental- 1y permitting a longer period of continued use of the engine under maximum power and speed without liability of overheating.

One of the specific objects is to separate the water and air-circulating pipes by relatively shallow spaces and comparatively large area so that the passage of air throu h the air conduits will rapidly take up an carry oif the heat radiated from the wallsof the water tubes.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the apparatus will be brought out in the following description. 1

In the drawings Figure 1 is a rear elevation, partly in section, of a water-cooling system embodying the various features of my invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken in the plane of line 2-2, Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of line 3-3, Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of line 44, Figure 1.

The main supporting frame comprises a pair of laterally spaced and parallel upright plates or legs l of suitable metal having their lower ends provided with out-turned feet 2 adapted to be bolted or otherwise secured to the chassis frame of a motor vehicle directly in front of the engine, not shown.

A substantially horizontal air containing shell -3 of sheet metal is arranged between the lower ends of the upright plates 1- with its lower edge in substantially the same 1927. Serial No. 195,100.

horizontal plane as the feet 2- to extend upwardly therefrom some distance above said feet and has its horizontal ends brazed, welded, or otherwise permanently secured to the inner faces of said plates to form a part '55 of a rigid frame structure.

The lower ends of the front and rear sides of the shell -3 are provided with inturned flanges l and 4- in transversely spaced relation to form an intervening openon ing or air outlet 5 which is controlled by a valve or damper 6 having its rear edge hinged to the rear flange 4' to permit it to be swung upwardly and rearwardly within the shell 3.

The rear wall of the shell 3- is provided with an additional but relatively smaller outlet -7 adapted to be connected to a heater conduit, not shown, for warming'the interior of the car or for any other purposes to which the warm air passing through the outlet 7 may be applied.

The distance of the outlet 7 from the pivot of the damper -6- is somewhat less than the transverse width of the damper so that when the latter is fully opened it will close the outlet 7- and allow the warm air entering the interior of the shell 3 to pass out at the bottom of said shell.

The damper 6 is adapted to be operated at will and for this purpose its pivotal edge is provided with crank arms 8 and 9-, the crank arm 8 being connected by a spring 10 to a fixed portion 11 of the chassis while the crank arm 9 is connected to an operating rod -12 extending to within convenient reaching distance of the driver of the car for operation by said driver.

The free end of the crank arm -8 is movable to positions above and below the horizontal plane of the damper pivot as -6- to enable the spring 10to yieldingly hold the damper in either its closed or open positions.

The top of the shell 3 is also provided with inturned flanges 13 in transversely spaced relation to form an intervening openmg 14- to permit the entrance of air into said shell from the superposed radiator, presently described.

This radiator comprises lower and upper substantially rectangular horizontal plates 15 and -16 arranged in vertically spaced parallel relation and each provided with a series of slots or openings -l7 in uniformly spaced relation parallel with each other, the slots of each plate being in vertical alinement with those of the other plate for receiving the adjacent ends of a corresponding number of vertical air conducting tubes 18-.

These slots 17 and air conducting tubes 18- are substantially fiat and relatively narrow transversely of the radiator, but are elongated forwardly and rearwardly thereby breaking up the relatively large volume of heated air passing through said conduits into a relatively large number of comparatively thin columns and incidentally exposing each column to a correspondinglylarge radiating area through the tubes for cooling purposes, in a manner hereinafter more fully described.

The marginal edges of the lower plate -15 are brazed or otherwise secured to the top flanges -13 of the lower shell 3 to rigidly and permanently hold those parts in fixed relation whereby the shell 3- becomes the main support for the radiator proper.

The openings 17 in the plates 15 and 16 are surrounded by flanges 17-- forming integral parts of the plates 15 and 16- and projecting toward each other to more firmly hold the tubes 18 in place and also to assist in holding said tubes in P spaced relation to a corresponding number of companion tubes 19 which are also flat and relatively narrow transversely and elongated forwardly and rearwardly of the radiator.

These outer tubes 19 surround their respective inner tubes 18 and have their lower and upper ends brazed or otherwise permanently secured to the perimeters of the adjacent flanges 17 thereby forming intervening relatively thin water chambers 20through which the water is adapted to be circulated to and from the water jacket of the engine for cooling the same, the flanges 17 of the lower and upper plates 15 and -16 forming respectively the bottom and top walls of the water chambers 20.

It is now clear that the inner upright air tubes 18 andtheir companion upright water tubes -19 are supported at their lower ends upon the lower plate 15- and that they support at their upper ends the upper plate 16.

The sides of the water tubes -19 are provided at regular intervals with relatively short and narrow ribs -2lpressed inwardly therefrom for reinforcing purposes and also to contact with the adjacent faces of I and is, therefore, open at the bottom but closed at the top as shown more clearly in Figure 2, the lower edges o opposite sides of said shell being detachably secured to the upper ends of the standards 1-- by bolts -22-which may be removed at will when it is desired to remove the shell or hood 3' for inspection or repairs of the upper portions of the radiator proper.

The lower ends of the rear sides of the upright water tubes -19- are provided wit-h outlets 23 communicating with an adjacent header 24 which, in turn, is provided with a downwardly and rearwardly extending conduit 25 adapted to be con nected to the lower portionof the water jacket of the engine for delivering the cooled liquid to said jacket, the lowest point of the conduit 25 being'provided with a drain cock -26 for draining the liquid from the entire cooling system, if desired.

The upper ends of the rear sides of the upright water tubes 19- are provided with inlet openings 27- communicating with a suitable header 28 which, in turn, is rovided with a downwardly and rearwardly extending conduit 29 adapted to be connected to the upper portion of the water jacket of the engine for receiving the heated water therefrom and permitting its flow into the upper ends of the several water tubes 19 around the corresponding air tubes 18-.

The upper header -28 extends some distance above the upper ends of the upright tubes 18 and -19- at the rear of the upper air-containing shell --3'- for receiving the lower end of a filling tube 30 which may be brazed or otherwise secured to the front wall of v the header 28- to form a water tight joint therewith and extends forwardly and upwardly through the ,top wall of the air-containing shell 3 A bushing 31- is secured in the top wall of the shell 3 to loosely fit over and upon the upper end of the filling tube 30- and is threaded externally for receiving a cap 32 which normally closes the upper end of the filling tube -30 but may be removed atwill when it is desired to fill the radiator and water jacket of the engine with Water or other cooling liquid.

A blower 33 or equivalent air-circulating device is mounted in any suitable manner upon the frame ofthe chassis and has its rotary impeller as 33- mounted upon a shaft 34 which is adapted to be driven by the crank shaft of the engine in any wellknown manner, not shown, or necessary to herein illustrate or describe, said pump being preferably located at the rear of the lower air-containing chamber -3 and provided with the usual central air inlet communicating with the atmosphere and an outlet -35-.

An air conduit 36 has its upper end secured to an inlet opening in the rear side of the upper air-containing chamber -3'-- as shown in Figure 2 and its lower end telescopically connected with the outlet 35. of the pump as shown in Figure 1 so that the conduit 36 may be removed with the hood -3, when desired, the upper end of said conduit -36 being flattened vertically and widened laterally to form a more rigid connection with the rear wall of the hood -3' without in any way restricting the passage of air from the pump to the hood.

A combined overflow and vent pipe -37- is supported on the rear wall of one of the upright water tubes -19- and has its upper end extended into the header 28 and its upper end opening to the atmosphere to limit the level of the water in the radiator and also to permit the escaping of air therethrough during the filling operation, the cap --32- being also provided with an air vent -32 to facilitate the free flow of water into the radiator.

The upright water tubes 19- are arranged in transversely spaced relation to form forwardly and rearwardly extending air passages 38- between them and through which the atmospheric air may'be forced under pressure by the movement of the machine forwardly or by the operation of a suitable fan with which the internal combustion engines are usually equipped.

In order to reduce the resistance to air pressure in the motion of the machine forwardly and also to facilitate the entrance of air into the spaces -38' between the upright water tubes the front sides of the tubes are provided with V-shaped deflectors 39- forming flaring months for the passages 38 and thereby concentrating'the passage of air through said passages.

Operation Assuming that the radiator and water jacket of the engine are filled with water or other cooling liquid through the filler tube 30 and that the engine is in operation thereby heating the cooling liquid and incidentally operating the fan or blower -32 the heated water will circulate from the water jacket of the engine through the conduit 29 into the header -28 and thence through the inlet openings -27 into the several upright water tubes 19 and thence downwardly through said tubes around the inclosed upright air tubes 18 into the lower header 24.-- and return through the conduits -25- to the base of the water jacket of the engine, this circula- 'tion being continued as long as the water is heated by the operation of the engine.

, During this operation the atmospheric air is drawn into the pump -33-- and thereby forced upwardly through the conduit -36 into the air hood --3' and thence downwardly through the upright air tubes 18 into the lower shell -3- from which it may pass outwardly through the outlet 7 to a heater within the car, not shown, for heating the interior of the car, if desired, or by operating the damper -6 to close the outi let 7- and open the lower end of the shell 3- the heated air may be permitted to pass directly to the atmosphere.

As the heated water passes downwardly in relatively thin columns between the water tubes 19- and air tubes 18- the latter become heated while the relatively large.

columns of air passing downwardly through the several air tubes 18 rapidly takes up the heat imparted to it by radiation from the water tubes and carries'it off at the bottom either through the outlet -5- when the damper 6 is opened or through the outlet -7 when the latter is opened.

These operations of the circulation of water and the circulation of air are continuous and automatic, particularly when the engine is in operation and owing to the relatively large cooling area of the air tubes and relatively shallow circulating area of the water through the tubes 19 and around the air tubes, the cooling of the heated water is unusually expeditious and reliable and has been found to prevent the overheating of the engine under a the most trying conditions, but it is evident that various changes may be made in the detail construction without departing from the spirit of this invention.

\Vhat I claim is 1. In a cooling system for internal combustion engines having a water jacket, a pair of substantially horizontal plates arranged in vertically spaced relation and provided with forwardly and rearwardly rectangular elongated openings therethrough, air tubes having their lower and upper ends secured respectively to the lower and upper plates in registration with said openings, water tubes surrounding the air tubes in spaced relation thereto to form intervening water passages around the air tubes and having their lower and upper ends secured respectively to the lower and upper plates, separate headers connected to the water tubes at different levels and provided with means for connection with the water jacket of the engine, an air cham- Ian her mounted on the upper end of the upper plate and communicatin with the adjacent ends of the air tubes, an means for circulating air through the chamber and air tubes.

2. In a cooling system for internal combustion engines having a water jacket, a series of upright water tubes arranged in spaced relation to form intervening air passages between them, means for connecting the water tubes with the water jacket of the engine, upright rectangular air tubes extending through the water tubes in spaced relation thereto to form intervening water passages from top to bottom, a detachable hood connecting the upper ends of the air tubes, and means for introducing air into the hood and causing it to pass downwardly through the air tubes, an air-receiving shell connecting the lower ends of the air tubes and provided with separate outlets and a damper controllingboth outlets.

3. In a cooling system for internal combustion engines having a water jacket, an upright radiator, upper and lower air chambers secured respectively to the upper and lower ends of the radiator and provided respec tively with an air inlet and an air outlet said radiator comprising a series of similar fiat upright air tubes arranged in parallel spaced relation transversely of the radiator and of considerably greater width from front to rear than their transverse widths and having their'upper and lower ends communicating respectively with the lower and upper air chambers, a series of substantially fiat up right water tubes surrounding the air tubes and forming therewith intervening water chambers, said water chambers having their lower and upper ends closed, separate header pipes communicating with the water chambers at difierent levels and provided with means for connection with the water jacket of the engine, and means connected to the inlet of the upper air chamber for circulating air from the top downwardly through the air tubes and outwardly through the outlet of the lower air chamber.

4. In a cooling system for internal combustion engines having a water jacket, an upright radiator having lower and upper horizontal plates in vertically spaced relation, a series of upright air tubes connecting said plates and arranged in parallel spaced relation and open at both ends, a series of upright water tubes surrounding the air tubes and secured to and between said plates in spaced relation to the air tubes to form intervening water chambers, an air chamber secured to the upper end of the radiator to communicate with the upper ends of the air tubes and provided with an air inlet, an additional air chamber secured to the lower end of the radiator to communicate with the adjacent ends of the air tubes and provided with separate outlets, one for communication with the atmosphere and the other adapted to be connected to a heater, a single damper controlling both of said outlets, headers connected to the water tubes at different levels and provided with means for connection with the water jacket of the engine, and means for introducing air into the upper chamber and downwardly through the air tubes into the lower chamber to escape through one or the other of the outlets according to the position of the damper.

5. In a cooling system for internal combustion engines having a water jacket, an upright radiator having lower and upper horizontal plates in vertically spaced relation, a series of upright air tubes connecting said plates and arranged in parallel spaced relation and open at both ends, a series of upright water tubes surrounding the air tubes and secured to and between said plates in spaced relation to the air tubes to form intervening water chambers, an air chamber secured to the upper end of the radiator to communicate with the upper ends of the air tubes and provided with an air inlet, an additional air chamber secured to the lower end of the radiator to communicate with the adjacent ends of the air tubes and provided with separate outlets, one for communication with the atmosphere and the other adapted to be connected to a heater, a single damper controlling both of said outlets, headers connected to the water tubes at different levels and provided with means for connection with the water jacket of the engine and means for introducing air into the upper chamber and downwardly through the air tubes into the lower chamber to escape through one or the other of the outlets according to the position of the damper, said air tubes and Water tubes being substantially fiat and of considerably greater width from front to rear than their transverse widths.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 21st day of May, 1927.

HARRY B. STODDARD. 

